Nassau cops to drive evidence to Pa. lab

Nassau police say they will begin using their own officers to drive drug evidence to a laboratory in Pennsylvania for testing, after two bags of marijuana from a pending case disappeared off a FedEx truck earlier this month.

The policy change comes at the recommendation of state Inspector General Ellen Biben, who is investigating mismanagement that led to the shutdown of the Nassau Police Crime Lab in February, police spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said.

Smith said two officers, a detective and a detective sergeant, will make the roughly eight-hour round-trip to Willow Grove about once a week. He said the two officers, who together earn about $113 an hour, will not cost taxpayers any additional money because they will be reassigned from other duties. He said gas and tolls will cost about $100 per trip.

Daniel Friedman, who represents the defendant in the misdemeanor drug possession case involving the marijuana, said using police officers to transport drug evidence is a "step in the right direction.

"This will help instill confidence in the community," he said. "At least now we will know what's going on with the items."

Friedman said he expects the case against his client, whom he would not name, to be dismissed at his next court date.

The crime lab, which tested blood, drugs, fingerprints, ballistics and other evidence, was put on probation for a second time on Dec. 3 by a national lab accreditation agency for failing to meet 26 protocols deemed essential to the proper handling of evidence. County officials closed the lab's drug-testing unit Feb. 10 and shut the entire lab Feb. 18 after allegations that police managers may have failed to disclose inaccurate testing.

Since then, the county has been shipping evidence to the Willow Grove, Pa., lab at a cost of about $100,000 a month.

John Byrne, a spokesman for District Attorney Kathleen Rice, would not comment on the new protocol for transporting drug evidence. John Milgrim, a spokesman for Biben, said, "In light of recent events, it is a sensible step."

Joseph LoPiccolo, president of the Nassau Criminal Courts Bar Association, said the change will make the evidence-testing process more "efficient, reliable and credible," as long as officers do it properly.

"Each person who handles the evidence should be able to document their role to insure that it was not tampered with . . . from the time the police secured it until it is returned for trial," he said.